Meet the team

I'm Andrew Skalkin, founder and CEO of Datagrok, Inc. I'm a computer scientist and entrepreneur who's passionate about making data accessible and actionable for everyone.

Before starting Datagrok in 2019, I spent 17 years at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson, where I held various positions in R&D IT, including software engineer, architect, scientist, and manager. I gained extensive experience in multiple domains such as cheminformatics, health informatics, LIMS, bioinformatics, biomarker research, drug development and manufacturing, statistical process control, biosensor data integration, and clinical data analysis.

I'm proud of my work at Janssen, where I designed and built innovative solutions that are still used by thousands of scientists today. One of my most notable projects was ABCD, an integrated drug discovery informatics platform, and another was JAKE, the Janssen Autism Knowledge Engine, a biosensor-driven platform for enabling clinical trials for autism spectrum disorder.

I have a Master's degree in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. When I'm not running Datagrok, I enjoy reading, hiking, and playing tennis.

As the CFO/COO of Datagrok, my focus is on guiding the company's financial strategy and making sure operations run smoothly through a cohesive approach to finance and ops.

I've been in the tech industry for over a decade, working with both private and public tech companies. I've had a mix of hands-on experience and leadership roles, giving me a broad understanding of how data and technology trends can be applied to optimize financial and operational processes and drive business success.

I began my career at Deloitte, where I developed a strong foundation in public accounting and went on to hold finance roles of increasing responsibility in the industry, including serving as Corporate Controller at EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM), where I helped the company during its successful IPO. I then became the VP of Finance at Aricent (acquired by Altran) and later at WorkFusion, growing my expertise in the SaaS domain.

Through these diverse experiences, I have honed my ability to work collaboratively, lead cross-functional teams, and execute complex financial and operational strategies.

When I'm not working, I enjoy exploring the great outdoors through hiking, playing tennis, and indulging in a good book. As a fun fact, I embarked on a three-month-long road trip in 2016 and had the opportunity to visit almost every state in the continental US. And I also climbed Kilimanjaro!

I was six years old when I wrote my first program in Basic, and since then, I have been captivated by computers and all things digital. At 15, I took on a programming side job and was struck by how much I enjoyed it. Now, I work at Datagrok, where I am responsible for the overall platform architecture and development of the backend features, making the experience for applied developers and data scientists smoother and more productive.

My personal motto is to simplify people's lives and leave everything better than I found it. I am driven by making processes faster and more efficient. During my time at commercial banks, I created tools that transformed hours-long processes into seconds. I also find great satisfaction in tackling real-world problems, and I am proud of my contribution to a team researching autism spectrum disorder where I helped develop a data processing pipeline. Incidentally, this project is how I met Andrew Skalkin, the founder of Datagrok.

For me, working at Datagrok requires a deep love for computer science and a comprehensive understanding of how computers work. It also requires a desire to make the world a better and more understandable place.

In my free time, I enjoy building electronic devices, composing music, and playing the electric guitar. Fun fact: my passion for electronic devices led me to earn a Master's degree in Radio-electronics Engineering.

I've been a science fan since school. I won three national titles in chemistry and represented Georgia in global events, like the ICHO and Mendeleev Olympiads, bringing home three medals. At university, my focus shifted to biology, coding, and ML, where I co-authored several research papers.

I love working with data, especially bioinformatics. It's even more exciting for me than working in a lab. That's why I've spent time on various pharma projects, where my focus has been on generating, analyzing, and processing biological data. Now, I'm with Datagrok as a Scientific Application Developer. My role? Enhance and grow the scientific tools for our platform. Tech's awesome - I get to innovate, yet balance my work with fun times with friends and sports.

Thinking about joining us at Datagrok? Get ready to learn and take some risks. You've got to be excited about making something new and unique—not just sticking to the playbook. Communication is important, too. Our team's really supportive, and it's great if you can do the same for others.

With an MSc in Biotechnology and Chemical Technology and interdisciplinary expertise in computing, mathematical modeling, and mathematical biology, I am now pursuing a Ph.D. in Mathematical Biology and Bioinformatics, specializing in drug design. My thesis work involves creating novel classification machine learning techniques for virtual screening.

Prior to joining Datagrok, I collaborated with industry, research institutes, and academic institutions on various mathematical biology initiatives to advance drug design, including developing new mathematical methods and structure descriptions for small molecules for virtual screening and analyzing chemical datasets. One of my most exciting projects was creating a machine learning approach for classifying compounds based on biological activity.

At Datagrok, I lead the development of tailored applications for early research and discovery in biopharmaceuticals. I am responsible for biological data mining and visualization, designing mathematical algorithms, performing high-performance scientific computing, and simulating biological systems.

I am eager to work with anyone motivated by the opportunity to work on drug discovery projects that merge science, technology, and computational methods.

In my leisure time, I am an avid mountaineer.

Ph.D. Biology, bioinfomatician, business analyst, life science subject-matter expert.

I pursued computer science in both college and university, driven by my passion for coding that began in high school. I'm grateful for my decision to pursue this field as it brings me joy and fulfillment even today.

At Datagrok, I’m part of the Platform Core team. One of the projects I enjoyed was working on the platform viewers and consolidating them into a single package. The process was challenging as it involved code analysis, rewriting in TypeScript, and refactoring, but now we have a unified charts package and I'm proud of my accomplishment.

In my free time, I like staying active, watching various sports, especially football, and engaging in physical activities like training and walking.

Datagrok presents a unique and thrilling project with its range of challenges and opportunities. Working here requires a flexible and adaptable mindset, as you're constantly presented with different problems that test and improve your skills as a developer.

I wrote my first computer program at the age of 10. It was a program for lego traffic light robot and had no words, only visual blocks. My 10th program was written in Java in order to learn about Android applications. My 100th and 1000th programs were written as a training for national programming contests I was winning at high school. After that I stopped counting.

My academic background includes strong foundations in math and computer science, covering distributed systems and databases, machine learning and computer vision, computer graphics. Professionally, I've been doing backend development for bigtech companies and startups as well as teaching next generation of brilliant computer scientists. I identify as multilingual of computer science world and don't really mind which language you use. What I do care about are architecture, scalability, performance, safety and backward compatibility. And I'm glad to be a part of Datagrok team to improve the platform in these aspects.

During my free time, if I have any, I usually participate in orienteering races, which might not be popular but is the most adventurous activity I know. When there are no races, I enjoy exploring the city or playing video games: I dream of creating a nice indie game one day.

I am a Scientific Application Developer for life sciences. My background is in Computer Science. My journey with software development began in middle school when I first tried coding in C++. Since then, I have honed my skills and expanded my knowledge, writing code in multiple languages, including C++, Python, Java, C#, and Typescript.

I am inspired by the potential of software to make a lasting impact on the world. One of my most challenging and rewarding projects to date is the creation of ADME calculators. Though it’s an ambitious and challenging undertaking and while there is still much work to be done before the app will be released in production, it is gratifying to know that I am contributing to the discovery of new drugs.

In my free time, I continue to educate myself and improve my skills. I also enjoy choreography and learning new languages.

Datagrok is more than just a team; it's a family. To be a part of this team, you need to be responsive, have a strong desire to learn and grow, and be willing to tackle challenging projects that bring value to the world.

I have a rich academic background, having earned a Master's in Applied Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences. I spent over a decade as an Assistant Professor in the Cyber Security and Software Department at Odessa National Polytechnic University, where I authored over 50 scientific papers in three languages, reviewed and edited multiple scientific articles, and presented at conferences.

My journey at Datagrok started as a technical writer, but I soon discovered my interest in the technical aspects of our solutions. I now work on the Quality Assurance team, making sure our products are bug-free, user-friendly, and intuitive.

Working at Datagrok requires a combination of creativity, attention to detail, and open-mindedness. I'm happy I can transalte these skills into something tangible, like the stability of our platform or enhanced user experience of our products.

I have a strong technical background, with a decade of experience in physico-chemical research before transitioning to IT. My Ph.D. in Colloid Chemistry fueled my passion for data analysis, problem-solving, and uncovering patterns in complex systems. Over time, I realized that the tools used for scientific research often lacked efficiency and usability, which sparked my interest in technology and led me to the world of software development and quality assurance.

At Datagrok, I work as a QA engineer, ensuring the platform is reliable, efficient, and user-friendly. Having spent years in research, I understand the importance of intuitive and powerful tools for data exploration. Being part of a team that helps scientists push the boundaries of discovery is both inspiring and rewarding.

With years of experience as an R&D chemist,I come from a pharmaceutical world where I contributed to the development of new drugs. While chemistry has always been close to my heart, my interest in technology nudged me to pick up coding alongside my day job. Now, as a Software Engineer, I've found a fulfilling intersection of these two passions. I'm just setting out on this new journey, and I'm thrilled to be part of the Datagrok family.

For me, effective team communication is the backbone of successful work. That's why I like working with people who are straightforward, accountable, and genuinely excited about the tasks at hand.

With a background in Physics and Mathematics, I specialize in creating image processing technologies drawing on my Ph.D. research. My work has resulted in 27 scientific papers, 10 patented software programs, and various scientific accolades.

At Datagrok, I design high-performance data analysis functions and solutions for complex processes. I thrive on using low-level algorithms to build fast-working tools and the challenge of seamlessly integrating technologies for the best outcomes.

Working at Datagrok is a unique experience, as the team is driven by their own vision, leading to innovative and highly effective solutions to intricate problems. It requires a flexible mindset and the ability to think outside the box.

In my free time, I enjoy playing lego with my son and preparing for mountain adventures.

From my earliest school days, I developed a genuine passion for programming, writing my first programs in C/C++ and exploring the endless possibilities of code.

At Datagrok, I’m proud to be a part of the platform core team. Here, I optimize and enhance existing features while also implementing new functionalities to visualize data in innovative ways. The role challenges me to continuously turn complex data into clear, actionable insights. Datagrok presents a unique experience and thrilling project environment, one that constantly inspires creativity and adaptability. Working here keeps me engaged and motivated, fueling my passion for technology and data visualization every single day.

My Dad is a software engineer, and my mom is a quality assurance engineer, so I suppose I was destined to become part of the IT world. When I was little, I thought that Information Technology was like magic. How can green letters on the black screen, like in The Matrix, connect people worldwide? Isn’t it fascinating? Now I think of myself as a magician.

After school, I used a gap year to understand what I wanted to do in this world. I was bored, so I asked my father if he had any challenging tasks for me to practice. That’s how my path began, without university or any other required education. It turned out that being a DevOps engineer is like solving puzzles and investigating mysterious cases, just like in computer games which I always liked.

My work started with hands-on tasks, and I used every year on my path to burnish my skills.

Datagrok was the first company that allowed me to build the whole infrastructure from scratch. It is the greatest challenge I have faced, and we are going to infinity and beyond. I cannot wait to see our serverless computational service for clients. At Datagrok, I also lead DevOps and QA teams.

Working in Datagrok can be demanding. It allows you to bring your expertise to an entirely new level. The person needs to be passionate and responsible about work.